This article by Neil Irwin, published on September 3 in the New York Times was reproduced (not by chance) in the Sunday edition of the Seattle Times, on September 10. It explains very well how most (if not all) high tech companies did not share more of the wealth unlike previous dominant industries of the past had done.
There is no fatality in the low pay and no benefits offered to the janitors working for Apple via a contractor. Apple is responsible for their exploitation, just as Microsoft was/is responsible for the way we were exploited (zero benefits, zero paid leave, zero pay raise) by Lionbridge, until Microsoft revisited their requirements and forced their suppliers to be more generous. Does Microsoft deserve a medal of honor for doing in March 2015 what they had started doing 17 years earlier, in 1998 (as I mention page 25 of my book The Other Microsoft? Was it right for Obama to invite and celebrate Microsoft's CEO Nadella as an 'agent of change' when the 'at least 15 days of paid time off requirement' did not include any paid public holidays (like Christmas) nor any paid parental leave? I don't think so. Let us not forget that when Microsoft found out they had lost their appeal in Washington DC to stop the subpoena forcing them to show their contracts (that would have proved the joint employment), they promptly decided to initiate layoffs, exchange severance pay for withdrawing the charges and then it was done, immediately closed the lab: bargaining in bad faith, retaliation, runaway shop, take your pick.
You maybe wonder what happened after our recent meeting with Lionbridge about an eventual settlement? We wonder if they were ever really interested in any settlement or were only hoping we would withdraw our charges against a very limited potential offer of rehiring. They have not answered any of our requests for more information that would allow us to give them a proposal. Suddently they don't seem any longer in a hurry.
We'll keep you posted. Don't hold your breath.
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